THESE stunning pictures show how the new £72m Museum of Liverpool is set to become the latest jewel on the city’s stunning waterfront.

Work on the outside of the three-floor Pier Head building was recently finished by contractors Pihl Galliford Try.

Cladding the landmark museum is almost complete and the mammoth task of moving the 6,000 exhibits in is due to begin.

Bosses say the programme is on schedule, although an exact date for its 2010 opening is yet to be finalised. It is expected to take more than a year to fit out the museum.

One of the main attractions is a Liverpool Overhead Railway motor coach, dating back to 1892, which will be lifted into position by a crane.

The free waterfront attraction is the largest new-build national museum in Britain for almost a century. It will be devoted to the city’s global significance through geography, history and culture and boasts 8,000 square metres of public space across three floors.

Up to 750,000 visitors are expected each year – with the project creating at least 500 construction jobs and 73 permanent posts.

The museum will focus on four main themes: Port City; Creative City; People’s City and Global City. Among the many attractions will be displays devoted to the Beatles phenomenon and the city’s football clubs.

A Museum of Liverpool spokeswoman said: “The feedback we are getting about the way the building is looking is that people are excited that it’s really happening.

“There is a lot of history attached to the site and visitors will be able to see the museum from the Albert Dock and The Strand.

“It will take 15 months to fit out the inside as it is a complicated procedure and the museum is so big in size.”

The museum’s windows are 8 metres high by 28 metres wide and offer striking views of the Pier Head and the River Mersey.

A spectacular atrium, with a unique curved staircase, is lit by natural light from a skylight in the centre of the building

The building footprint is 110 metres long by 60 metres wide and at its tallest point 26 metres high.

That makes it longer than the pitches at either Anfield or Goodison Park, more than twice as wide as the Titanic and as tall as five Liver Building Liver birds placed end to end.